Teamwork brought Spain’s Cosentino Group US headquarters to Coral Gables

The Cosentino Group, a Spain-based company, relocated its American headquarters from Sugarland, TX, to Coral Gables in June with the collaboration of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council, the City of Coral Gables, Career Source Florida and local colleges and universities. “We often get criticized for being fragmented, but this is a good example of how we can all come together to attract these companies,” said Javier Betancourt, economic development director for Coral Gables. When Cosentino reached out to the Beacon Council a year ago, the council helped research, provide data on Miami-Dade County, put Cosentino in contact with local education institutions to source talent and relocate jobs for their families, apply for a financial state incentive and work with the City of Coral Gables for permitting assistance. The Cosentino Group is a family-owned company specializing in worldwide production and distribution of high-value innovative surfaces for architecture and design. Cosentino says it bases its development on sustainable international expansion, innovative research and development, and a corporate commitment to the local communities where it operates. The company currently employs 3,700 people worldwide, including 1,200 in the US. It distributes its products and brands in more than 80 countries and is present in 32 countries, with its own assets in 29 of them. Cosentino has more than 120 commercial and business properties, with over 90% of its financial turnover coming from international markets. Cosentino built out a 23,000-square-foot office at 355 Alhambra Circle to cover day-to-day management, the promotion of Cosentino products and sales training. The new headquarters will include management positions with an average wage over $66,000. “We have different positions available, and we are still looking for passionate professionals to join our team,” said Massimo Ballucchi, marketing director for Cosentino. The relocation will create at least 85 new jobs and invest more than $1 million in the local community. Only 35% of Cosentino’s employees requested relocation, so most of the jobs are new. “We’re very happy to see them bring in high value,” said James Kohnstamm, senior vice president of the Economic Development Department at the Beacon Council. “All of Cosentino’s American sales from Canada to Argentina will be communicated through Miami. It is the most strategic location for their management position, sales, finance teams and HR functions,” Mr. Kohnstamm said. “Miami’s location offers key strategic advantages” and “the entrepreneurial and innovative workforce in Miami better positions us to provide new products and designs that are both sustainable and advanced,” said Eduardo Cosentino, CEO of Cosentino North America and executive vice president of global sales, in a press statement. “We could not have found a better place to do business,” Mr. Cosentino said. “Texas offers more financial incentives than we do, so if it were purely financial, this wouldn’t necessarily be the right move,” Mr. Betancourt said. “We offer a different quality of life and global orientation and they felt very much at home here.” “It doesn’t hurt that a Spanish company ended up on Alhambra Circle,” Mr. Betancourt added. “All it took was visiting Miami for them to be sold.” Cosentino received performance-based incentives through the state’s Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund. It includes refunds on corporate income, sales, ad valorem, intangible personal property, insurance premium and other taxes. “It’s a fairly rigorous program,” Mr. Kohnstamm said. “The company committed to a certain capital investment and interest, and only once they meet those commitments will they receive any of the benefits. They have six years to collect those jobs to receive the full amount.” The Cosentino Group is also building a Cosentino City Center, a design room concept primarily used by designers, architects and engineers to see and test materials. The 3,350-square-foot center at 3898 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami’s Design District is to be completed by the end of September and create more job opportunities for customer service professionals in the area. “The Cosentino City is not included in any incentives package, as it’s a separate facility, but it is important for the Cosentino brand and will help them establish a greater presence in the community,” Mr. Kohnstamm said. “Through the Permitting Assistance Program, Coral Gables has directly created about 1,500 jobs since 2015 by helping companies expand and relocate,” Mr. Betancourt said. Last year alone, the Beacon Council generated $188.2 million in capital investments and created 1,762 new jobs. “This is a trend that we’re seeing with headquarters in the Americas, Mr. Kohnstamm said. “Miami has been very successful in recruiting and growing our American headquarters, and now we’re moving to a more global platform,” he said. “We are very excited to have a family-run Spanish company with a high-level brand in Europe and the Americas recognize the opportunities to grow their business in Miami and contribute to our innovative community.”